Can You Make a Stocking for Someone Homeless or a Goody Bag or Tie Blanket For God’s Elderly Children?

As we approach the holiday season, our parish Religious Education Program is asking parishioners if they would consider filling a Christmas stocking with items needed for someone homeless, or making a fleece tie blanket and/or a gift bag to be given to God’s elderly children residing at two local nursing homes. It is an honor and blessing to spread Christmas cheer and love to those lacking so much and to the beautiful residents and patients at Harmony and Avantara nursing care centers. Can you help our parish’s Religious Education Program reach our goal to gift 100 stockings; 150 blankets and 150 goody bags this year?

Christmas Stockings – Can you contribute a Christmas Stocking filled with items for a homeless man, woman, teen or younger child? If you go to the Dollar Store, you can surely get a stocking and all items for under $20. Staple or tape a note to the stocking so we know if it is intended for a man, woman, teen boy, teen girl, younger boy or younger girl. Please bring your stockings to our church before or after any Mass the weekend of November 23 and 24. Catechist Diana Kuzlik will be delivering all stockings to the Diocese of Joliet in early December.

Goody Bags – Can you contribute a gift bag that contains a pair of non-skid slipper socks, a word search book, a packaged snack or bag of candy, body wash and shampoo, and a card with an uplifting message? Please bring your gift bag to our church before or after any Mass the weekend of December 7 and 8, as we will deliver them on December 11.

Making a Tie Blanket is an Easy, Fun Family Project – Visit YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/ and search “Make a Tie Blanket from Fleece” to view many helpful videos. Making a blanket takes between 30 minutes and an hour, and all the craft stores in the area sell a variety of fleece products. Please gift wrap each blanket and indicate if the blanket is best for a male, female or either. Please bring your blanket to our church before or after any Mass the weekend of December 7 and 8, as we will deliver them on December 11.

After you’ve created the stocking, blanket or gift bag, pray over it, asking God to bless whomever will receive it. Thank you so much for your time and consideration! May God bless you as He blesses the homeless and elderly who deserve our love and care.